EVALUATION OF SOFTCOPY PHOTOGRAMMETRIC SYSTEMS: Hela
CONCEPTS, TESTING STRATEGY, AND PRELIMINARY RESULTS Om
inves
Raad A. Saleh and Frank L. Scarpace p hok
: ; : . WisL
University of Wisconsin-Madison conc:
ERSC, 1225 W. Dayton St., Madison, WI 53706, USA for
Phone: (608)262-1585 Fax: (608)262-5964 Internet: raad@cae.wisc.edu, rod]
scarpace@macc.wisc.edu qui
Intercommission WG II/III
KEY WORDS: Digital, Softcopy, Photogrammetric Systems, Production, Evaluation, Testing Thee
a) F
These
ABSTRACT orient
The field of photogrammetry is undergoing tremendous changes attributed primarily to the way data Sun
opera
are handled, analyzed, and presented. The development of many softcopy photogrammetric systems and +
is a characteristic of the direction of these changes. A significant segment of the user community is oper à
still cautious about these new systems coming to the marketplace with very impressive claims.
Furthermore, it may be safe to assume that established photogrammetric mapping production facilities b) Ac
have already invested a considerable resources in plotting machines, photographic equipment, and
operator training. Therefore, it would be it difficult to shift into a new direction, which not only will SX
it render the existing equipment outdated, but it will also require new major acquisition. It is evident for di
that no standardized evaluation yet exists that compares some softcopy systems to a conventional Con
photogrammetric workstation. Such unbiased evaluation is needed to show users the strengths, and auto
of course the weaknesses, of softcopy photogrammetric systems. The Laboratory for Softcopy gener;
Photogrammetry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is undertaking an evaluation project of a COD Ve
number of commercially available softcopy photogrammetric systems. The selection of these systems Con
is controlled by specific factors, which are budgetary constraints, limited resources of qualified testing autom
staff, and willingness of manufacturer’s participation. In this paper, evaluation objectives, strategy, gener;
and preliminary results are presented. In view of certain applications, softcopy systems are found to ATO:
be competitive, if not superior, to conventional photogrammetric operations. A number of specific The V
factors, however, must be carefully considered, such as data volume, operator skills, and automation. that e
direct
indire
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation c) Sp
1. INTRODUCTION (WisDOT) is currently considering options achiev
regarding the introduction of softcopy extras
Softcopy photogrammetric systems are increasingly ^ photogrammetry technology into its mapping compa
available in the commercial market, ranging in production operations. While it is a given that experi
capabilities, performance, and cost. There is no — conversion is eventual, the issue at hand is Anoth
doubt that these systems have the potential to — whether current softcopy technology conform to interac
provide low cost sound photogrammetric WisDOT standards of performance pertaining to stereo]
production. However, this evolving technology is ^ mapping operations. There are several issues need is obse
by no means fully matured, at least for the present to be addressed in answering this question. For with «
time. this purpose, two high-end systems have been mappii
examined. These are the Intergraph ISPN and the
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